Q & A: Jason Watts, vice president of business development, Sheffield Metals International

Sheffield Metals International's ambitions can be sky-high when it comes to its focus on sustainable products.
Indeed, the Lorain County company recently facilitated the installation of a solar roofing system at Mount Union College's Peterson Field House that is operating at a level that could power seven homes for more than a year.
The two-story building in Alliance is generating its own electricity — enough for 16 treadmills, 14 ellipticals, 16 flat-panel televisions and other appliances.
Sheffield Metals, under the direction of CEO Tony Mazzella and president Mike Blake, has 25 employees and annual sales of $25 million. Its other major Northeast Ohio projects include work at the city of Cleveland's Zelma George Recreation Center, Stonewater Golf Club and the Castaway Bay Hotel at Cedar Point.
Sheffield Metals vice president of business development Jason Watts answered questions from Crain's Cleveland Business regarding the 15-year-old company and its focus on the green building sector.
Q: What effect did the recession have on Sheffield Metals? Were there decreased sales or cutbacks of any kind?
A: In 2008, Sheffield Metals experienced record sales. As with all U.S. businesses, the economic turbulence of 2009 did affect our company, and our sales and staffing did diminish. Fortunately, however, after the first four months of 2010, we are once again fully staffed and up 10% in sales from 2009. We fully anticipate continued growth for the remainder of the year.
Q: How much of Sheffield Metals' business is in green building products? What type of opportunity is present in that sector for today's manufacturers?
A: All of our business efforts are rooted in providing sustainable products to our customers. We have a minimum of 25% recycled content in all of our steel products, and they are 100% recyclable. Our COOLR roofing product is designed for standing-seam roofs and is highly reflective, allowing for more efficient building insulation and reduced energy costs. It is also Energy Star approved and U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design compliant.
Another product, TOPR, is a retrofit roof framing product that fits directly on top of a building's existing roof, thus eliminating all the waste that would have been generated by removing the old roof. Less waste means less material put into landfills.
Perhaps our most sustainable product is the SOLR thin film solar laminate offering. SOLR is a true building integrated photovoltaic material that's flexible and lightweight. This product can be adhered to roofing panels before they are placed on a building, therefore reducing labor and mitigating risk during installation. And, it has the capability of producing enough power to cover all of a building's electrical costs.
Advancements in technology and production processes have opened the door for building product manufacturers.
Not only can companies now create sustainable products, but the entire process can become more environmentally conscious. Companies that are willing to invest the initial capital costs can create low- and zero-waste production facilities while still generating a high-quality product.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges that your firm is facing looking ahead to the future?
A: To keep updated on current technologies and to stay abreast of the vast amount of incentives that are available for our customers.
Q: What are the biggest concerns in implementing a large-scale project such as the one completed at Mount Union?
A: I was very confident going into the project because of the team we put together. A concern on any project is coordination between different trades and making sure the owner is satisfied when the job is completed. We had some obstacles to overcome, but everyone worked together and we now have a very nice finished product. Today, Mount Union College's system is generating enough power to operate its two-story fitness center.
Q: What are some of the obstacles in putting together financing for such a project? Specifically, how easy or hard is it to take advantage of grant opportunities?
A: The biggest challenge in most solar projects is the initial, up-front capital costs. Though a 100% return on investment can often be achieved in only a few years, solar power systems are still expensive in the initial installation and implementation phase.
Recently, banks have been reticent to loan money for renewable energy projects. However, this has given rise to private investors and state governments taking a more active role. With the Mount Union College project, we were able to utilize a power purchase agreement and receive a grant from Ohio's Department of Development.
Ohio, in particular, has a variety of funding resources, but they all require specific application and filing processes. Sheffield Metals was able to act as the primary consultant to Mount Union in this application process, and everything went very smoothly. The system at Mount Union will pay for itself within three years.
Q: What are the firm's future plans? Are there any expansions or additional hiring in the works?
A: We are planning to keep growing the business with increased sales and additional locations. We also expect to expand our reach into the solar market with a broader product offering. There may be some opportunities for Sheffield Metals International to offer additional renewable energy products that integrate well with our current product lines.
In 2007 and 2008 we opened in two new regions of the country: one in Dallas, Texas, and one in Denver, Colo. This expanded our coverage well beyond our existing operations in Atlanta and Sheffield. Both these locations were in their infancy when the recession hit and while they have done well, we still expect significant growth out of both regions.
We do expect to continue our expansion. In November 2009 we hired a product development engineer, Andrea Stephan, to primarily assist with the SOLR product line. If our growth continues, we fully expect to hire additional employees at all of our locations.